Images showing the bottom of Enigma Lake, which is 30 feet below the surface of the Victoria Land Ice Sheet in Antarctica. (Image credit: Image cropped from Fig. 4, Smedlile et al/Communications Earth & Environment, 2024, CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )
Antarctica's Enigma Lake certainly lives up to its name. The permanently frozen lake, named for the unique garbage cone at its center, was long thought to be completely frozen. However, scientists have discovered a layer of fresh water hidden beneath the ice that is home to a variety of microorganisms.
During an expedition to Antarctica from November 2019 to January 2020, the researchers surveyed the lake using ground-penetrating radar and found at least 40 feet (12 meters) of liquid water beneath the ice. They then drilled into the ice and used a camera to study the lake's depths.
The team first analyzed the water to determine its origin. This was critical because the area has low rainfall, strong winds, and intense solar evaporation, so any water in Lake Enigma would have evaporated long ago.
Based on the chemical composition of the salts in the water, the researchers hypothesized that the lake's water is constantly replenished from the nearby Amorphous Glacier through an unknown underground route.
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The bottom of Enigma Lake at a depth of 74 feet. (Image credit: Image cropped from Fig. 4, Smedlile et al/Communications Earth & Environment, 2024, CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )
The bottom of Enigma Lake at a depth of 30 feet. (Image credit: Image cropped from Fig. 4, Smedlile et al/Communications Earth & Environment, 2024, CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )
Meltwater inflow into Lake Enigma likely comes from the nearby Amorphous Glacier. (Image credit: Image cropped from Fig. 4, Smedlile et al.
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